Opinion category, Page 160
Editorial: Could presidential race swing Pennsylvania politics?
Pennsylvania’s history as a swing state always gets attention during presidential election years. In the last two such elections, it has made all the difference. Suburban voters in Beaver, Butler and Chester counties helped put the Keystone State in Donald Trump’s column in 2016. Erie and Northampton counties switched to...
Letter to the editor: The world would change if we all told the truth
Mellowing with age (80) allows me more time to contemplate just how screwed up the world has become. I have come to the conclusion that if people just told the truth, our world would change dramatically. It is said that once a person begins lying, it is all downhill from...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: In search of a silent majority
When President Richard M. Nixon appealed to the nation for support of his Vietnam War policy in a televised address, he called on the “silent majority” of Americans to side with him. The term “silent majority” has come and gone and been used in various ways, but it suited Nixon’s...
Jennie Sweet-Cushman: Worried about saving democracy? Staying the course isn’t the answer.
What do The New York Times Editorial Board, George Clooney and (as of last count) 10 congressional Democrats, two out of three Democrats, and famed political strategist James Carville have in common with a professor of political science (namely, me)? We all have such grave concerns about President Joe Biden’s...
Counterpoint: The economy, threats to democracy are top issues
Recent polls show that the economy is still chosen by more voters than any other issue as the most important issue in this election. A Washington Post/Schar School survey shows this to be true also for the swing voters in the swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and...
Point: Military readiness is a crucial election issue
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, a critical issue remains largely unaddressed: the alarming deficiencies in the U.S. military. Political debates about the extent of our engagement in foreign conflicts — whether in support of Ukraine, Israel or the defense of Taiwan — assume the United States has the necessary...
Letter to the editor: Project 2025 threat to our democracy
As I watched the July 4 celebration at our nation’s Capitol, I was struck with the contrast between two events. Jan 6, 2021, saw a violent mob bent on destroying our democracy; July 4, 2024, saw a peaceful gathering celebrating our democracy. These two events are metaphors, reminding us of...
Sounding off: Presidential race tops writers’ concerns
Biden should step aside Joe Biden claims this year’s presidential election is about preserving democracy and that Donald Trump is running solely to feed his oversized ego. If Biden truly believes this, then he should step aside. The Democrats would then be able to nominate a practical centrist around whom...
Letter to the editor: Remembering Lorin Maazel
The legacy of the “City of Champions” is more than Super Bowls, Worlds Series, Stanley Cups, NCAA Championships or superstars. It also includes Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra stars like Victor Herbert, Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg — and Lorin Maazel, who died July 13, 2014. From a child prodigy in Paris, LA...
Editorial: Start planning path to next Pennsylvania budget now
Pennsylvania has a 2024-25 budget. Hallelujah. The budget came in a mere 11 days late. In Pennsylvania political time, that’s practically early. The 2023-24 budget overshot the June 30 deadline by almost half a year. The last parts were signed Dec. 14, making it closer to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s February...
Gary Franks: Biden helps Trump increase his lead
It is a miracle. President Joe Biden has done what few Americans have ever done or even thought possible. He has caused former President Donald Trump to be relatively silent. Trump is speechless. The latter does not have to do or say anything as long as Biden persists in being...
S.E. Cupp: Democrats, Republicans and the death of common sense — we’re stuck with Biden and Trump
Common sense. We all know what it means, but common as it is, definitions and ideas of it have changed over centuries. Aristotle connected common sense directly to the senses, and the ways in which we use different tastes, colors, feelings, smells and sounds to collectively perceive and categorize things....
Kari Xander: Pittsburgh must do better for its nurses
Pennsylvania is heading toward the worst nursing shortfall in the entire nation and will soon have over 20,000 empty positions. Here in Pittsburgh, our enormous health systems have the financial resources to lead the way in solving this crisis. Instead, the health care industry has done the exact opposite and...
Letter to the editor: Is Mark Madden rooting for Pirates to fail?
I’ve never written a letter to the editor in all my 66 years. But Mark Madden has gotten me fired up enough to give it a shot. Is he ever positive about the Pirates? In his column “Bryan Reynolds’ contract turning out to be bargain for Pirates” (July 6, TribLive),...
Letter to the editor: Vote for legislators who listen
Most Americans, no matter their religion, race or political party, want the same things from our government: • 98% support changing the way our political campaigns are funded. We want a reduction in big money’s influence. • 85% believe in access to abortion. We want reproductive freedom. • 75% support...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ malfeasance
The debate between Presidents Trump and Biden was over much sooner than liberals would have liked, as it was instantly apparent Biden was not dialed in and gave the worst performance in contest history. In the immediate aftermath, network personalities critiqued both candidates, focusing the overwhelming majority of their commentary...
Laurels & lances: Furries and Philly
Laurel: To furry friends. You might want to dismiss Anthrocon as a bit silly. When you have thousands of people dressed like stuffed animals, the jokes do tend to write themselves. But the convention is serious business, too. VisitPittsburgh’s senior director of communications and public affairs Emily Hatfield said this...
Lori Falce: Why can UK and France move faster toward political change than U.S.?
America is a relatively young country. At just 248 years since announcing our debut as an independent nation with the Declaration of Independence, we are relative children on the world stage. Let’s look at the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — a good starting point for...
Mark Z. Barabak: It’s not just the White House. Biden could also cost Democrats control of Congress
As if Democrats don’t have enough to keep them up nights, here’s something beyond frightful visions of a Trump victory: a Republican trifecta in Washington. Joe Biden’s calamitous debate performance and the burgeoning concerns about his age and acuity aren’t just undercutting his chances at a second term. They’re also...
Jonah Goldberg: What too many Republicans still don’t understand about Donald Trump’s agenda
Donald Trump isn’t normally thought of as a consensus-builder, but in one sense that’s exactly what he is. Many of Trump’s most ardent fans and foes alike believe he is the leader of a political movement with a clear and defined set of principles and goals. They disagree only on...
Letter to the editor: WPIAL won’t correct inequities
It’s obvious the WPIAL will never correct the inequities that allow the Catholic/private high/low schools to enjoy athletic recruiting from anywhere. Question: Is it possible to determine how many members of the board of directors of the WPIAL (and the PIAA) are Catholic? The media, when dealing with “higher ed”...
Letter to the editor: Dziados will work for women’s rights
Whom do you want making decisions for you in the medical exam room? Your doctor? Or your congressman? On June 24, 2022, Chris Dziados, who is recently retired from the military and running for Congress, stood on the steps of the Supreme Court, horrified that SCOTUS would strip away women’s...
Editorial: If Biden won’t say Fogel’s name, Trump couldVideo
Please say Marc Fogel’s name. Say his name, say it often, say it in important places and bring him home. Fogel, 62, is a teacher from Oakmont who has spent his whole adult life teaching kids in foreign countries. In August 2021, he was arrested in a Moscow airport for...
Letter to the editor: Shapiro-Whitmer good bet for Democrats
It now appears fairly certain that Joe Biden is not going to be the Democratic nominee for president, that he will not be able to overcome a disastrous debate performance which was viewed by tens of millions and which will make for devastating ads to be run by his presumed...
Letter to the editor: Let’s look into Biden’s ‘cold’
In the many critiques that have been made public of the recent presidential debate, so much has been made of the cold that so severely afflicted President Biden that witnesses, including a number of Democrats, have expressed doubts about his ability to maintain the present campaign to a successful, winning...
